


Pokemon Ranger

by Rangerfan58



Series: Ranger series [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-12-01 02:53:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11477109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rangerfan58/pseuds/Rangerfan58





	1. Chapter 1

well Ash and friends were having a good time traveling when suddenly they were surrounded by a mysterious group

"well, well what do we have here?"

"looks like a bunch of brats Carlos"

"let's take 'em"

suddenly

"not so fast Branchos!"

they look up and see someone on a staraptor, who soon landed

(growls) "I thought we lost all of you back there not just one person"

"well you didn't"

_five minutes earlier_

"the Rangers are still behind us boss"

"let's see if they can take this"

he uses an ordinary weapon to attack and one of the group takes the hit, while the group that used the weapon flew off

"Karen!"

the person almost jumped off but was stopped by someone else

"no Josh we can't"

"but Karen..."

(angry tone) "I know blast it all" (sighs) "I know but we have to stop these guys and report in to Ranger Union about the change in mission status"

"and tell them about Karen"

"yes and tell them about Karen, but you know as well as I that she knew the risks when she accepted the mission. The same risks we all accepted when we decided to become Rangers"

(sighs) "you're right, sorry Mark, come on let's continue the mission"

_present_

"you're going to pay for what you've done to Karen"

"whatever, you Rangers are all the same...annoying"

well the enemy suddenly got reinforcements and the Rangers captured some wild pokemon but even then they were outnumbered...or so they thought

"come on guys, let's give them a hand"

"right"

and so Dawn, Ash and Brock quickly got involved and also evened up the score. Five minutes later the enemy retreated

"man they're almost as pathetic as Team Rocket and I've been dealing with them for ages now"

"across multiple regions even"

"you're one to talk Brock...how long have you been traveling with Ash now?"

"right Dawn, you've made your point"

well the two Rangers let them have their little conversation figuring it was one of their ways of coping with a stressful battle. They also noticed that while they were talking they were doing a quick check on their pokemon before almost all of them went back into their pokeballs. After a few minutes though they pay attention to the two people who unexpectedly came to their rescue. Ash spoke up first

"hi, sorry about not introducing ourselves earlier my name is Ash, this is Pikachu, he doesn't like his pokeball, also with me are my friends Brock and Dawn"

"hi I'm Mark and this is Josh and as you heard and probably noticed we're Pokemon Rangers"

"hey you mentioned someone named Karen who are they?"

"you mean were...she was a Ranger like us but..."

"she died?"

"yes...they used a weapon against us instead of a pokemon and she...she fell into the ocean"

"you know, we're not that far from a Pokemon center, if you want you could travel with us for a while and then report in at the center"

(shakes his head) "sorry Brock but we have to report the change in the situation to the Ranger Union, they have to know about Karen and the Branchos plans"

they look to the sky and see that it was getting dark

"Josh as team leader I say we stay with them for the night, it's too dangerous to travel at nighttime right now. Let's not forget that we've lost Karen and were injured ourselves as well"

"so basically you're saying we need to rest and take care of ourselves"

"yes, you know that's what Karen would want"

"low blow Mark, using my fian...friend against me like that"

(slowly) "Josh is there something you aren't telling me?"

(sighs) "busted...with the Ranger Unions approval we have been going out for the past two years...a week ago I informed the Ranger Union of a change of status in our relationship pending there approval...they approved and three days ago when we went out to dinner under the guise of catching up I proposed to her"

"she said yes didn't she?"

"yes she did, Ranger Union and now everyone here knows that she's my fiancee but only those people...or at least she  _was_  my fiancee before the Branchos killed her"

"man that's a seriously low blow to you, but now I know why you acted that way earlier"

"exactly"

meanwhile Karen was actually alive and had finally made it ashore, albeit very weakened and with a few injuries too, but hey she wasn't complaining...much


	2. Chapter 2

"great lost my styler which means unless I can get to a Pokemon center I can't report in"

she just rests a few minutes and then another thought comes to her

"oh brother this is going to be a mess for management, after all my team is going to have to report me as dead, just perfect"

well she finds a place to sleep for the night and also finds out where the nearest Pokemon center is which leads to more sarcasm, which considering her situation was entirely understandable

"great, that's about a three day walk from here right?"

"yes, unless there's a storm and it's our season of summer storms"

(sighs) "thanks for telling me this, any warnings should I be traveling while there's a storm?"

"besides seek the closest thing you see to be a reasonable shelter location, none"

"perfect"

well she decides to get some dinner and remembers how she first met Josh eight years earlier

_eight years previous_

"it's a pokemon ranger run!"

and so there's chaos and while that's going on Josh gets into the room

"hold it right there team Flaron, I have you beaten"

Karen in her disguise speaks up

"not quite Ranger, everyone else run, you know how strong I am"

and so they all ran while the Ranger prepares for battle but that would never happen instead once she was sure they were out of ear shot she speaks up again

"OK Ranger what's your name?"

"why does a member of team Flaron want to know?"

"you'll find out soon enough"

"fine the names Josh, now then let's hurry up since I'm on a mission to find a missing Ranger and take down your group"

"how long has the Ranger been missing?"

"three months, after they missed there last check in they gave them a few days figuring the Ranger had some difficulty getting away to report in, but it's been three months since then, the Ranger hasn't quite been declared dead but they're close to doing so"

(groans) "stupid boss rechecking my loyalties and assigning me jobs and bodyguards. Ok Ranger we need to have a brief discussion"

"no I need to beat you"

"Ranger Josh I have a mission for you so hear me out"

that got Josh quiet real fast

"escape this place and tell them you've been in contact with Ranger Karen, inform them that she is still  _deep_  undercover and has bodyguards at all times, also tell them that team Flaron is planning something big in the Sinnoh region which is where this ship is actually headed. Whatever you do remember to report to our superiors at Ranger Union  _directly_ , there might be some moles and I don't want them to know where I am"

"so you're Ranger Karen huh? I must say it's great to know you're still alive for sure and not a prisoner"

"I certainly feel like one with the bodyguards, but that's because of the current project the boss has me working on, during the time I missed my check in I was proving I was still 'loyal' to him"

"understood, and what about my mission to take this team down?"

"oh trust me, once they see the information on this disk they'll keep you on the mission, because I need back-up and bad"

"I accept my new mission"

and so three months later team Flaron was taken down and Karen was back to being an active, public Ranger

_present_

Over the years they became friends and eventually started dating. When he proposed just a few days ago, she was initially very shocked but then accepted knowing she wanted to be with him for the rest of her life

"oh Josh please be safe"

the next day Karen set off to the nearest Pokemon center while Mark and Josh found a staraptor and got to Ranger Union

"I see so Karen is dead instead of missing"

"yes sir, there's no way she could survive such a fall"

"it has been known to happen Josh"

"except that even when wet she still would've been able to contact us"

"you make a valid point...very well we will be informing all the Rangers in the field about Karen's death over the next three days...until then take a break I'd say you deserve it"

"hey ma'am have you ever heard of a kid named Ash Ketchum?"

"yes from several Rangers"

"who?"

"Walker, Solana, Kellen and Ben"

"wow, that's impressive"

"indeed it is, his traveling companions can also be pretty impressive"

"indeed they can be, but why on earth do they attract so much attention?"

"what do you mean?"

"right before we left a group called Team Rocket showed up and tried to steal Ash's pikachu. The strange thing about it is that the group almost expects them to show up and try to steal their pokemon"

"from what I've heard, he's a trouble magnet and has been going up against Team Rocket since he began his journey quite some time ago"

"you're kidding"

"nope, he almost sounds like another Ranger I used to know"

the boss was looking behind them and they saw Rangers Walker and Bristol come in and Bristol speaks up

"ok that was  _so_  not my fault back then"

"look we'll discuss whether or not it was your fault later right now I need reports you two"

"everything seems to be fine boss, the strange occurrences have actually stopped for now"

"understood"

"hey where's Ranger Karen? I thought she was with those two on a three man mission"

"incidentally that's something we need to start the ball rolling on, Ranger Karen was killed on mission yesterday evening"

"understood I'll start getting the word out"

"as will I"

and so they left. While that was going on Karen left the town and headed towards the nearest Pokemon center. Three days later she got there at the same time as Walker did. At the center's front desk


	3. Chapter 3

"oh that's just terrible, of course I'll get this printed as soon as possible, and sorry for the loss of a fine Ranger Ranger Walker"

Karen decides to speak up before it gets out of hand

"perfect now I have someone to verify with when I report to Ranger Union that I'm actually alive Jackie"

Walker turns around and asks a question looking ready to faint at a moments notice

"tell me I'm not dreaming and it's really you Karen"

(smiles) "you're not dreaming Jackie, I survived the fall and somehow made it to shore. Problem is I lost my styler sometime during the fall so I couldn't report in until now"

Jackie looks at her, pinches himself looks at her again and then faints

"well he's going to be out for a few minutes"

"why so long?"

"simple I need some food because I haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon"

"valid reason"

a few minutes later after re-convincing Walker that he wasn't dreaming Karen reported in for the first time in almost five days

"this is Ranger Karen to Ranger Union come in...this is Ranger Karen to Ranger Union come in...Ranger Union this is Ranger Karen reporting in please respond...Ranger Karen to Ranger Union I am trying to report that I'm alive so please answer...Union this is Ranger Karen answer me so that I can report in after almost five days"

she tries a few more times before hanging up the phone to confer with Walker

"Jackie should I blackmail them or not?"

"what do you mean by that Karen?"

"did you hear about what I did the last time they didn't answer me when I tried to report in after suddenly going blackout for every ones safety for a few days?"

"no I didn't hear about it"

"darn"

"that's because I didn't have to, I was at Ranger Union when you did that little stunt"

"you mean you actually lived through my stunt?"

(grins) "oh yeah and I have to tell you, it was epic"

"so think I should blackmail them by mentioning the stunt and promising worse?"

"ok Karen be fair, for at least the past three days they've thought you dead"

"still doesn't mean they can ignore me when I try to report in"

"you would take the questioning wouldn't you?"

"exactly, and the poking, prodding, multiple ID scans and who know what else to prove that it's me"

"then I say go for it Karen"

"with pleasure"

she picks up the phone and dials again

"this is Pokemon Ranger Karen to Ranger Union reporting that I am indeed alive, either pick up or do you want a repeat of last year with interest this time?"

this time one of the leaders themselves picks up

"you wouldn't dare"

"wanna bet? I've been trying to contact you for the past five minutes, excluding time to talk to Ranger Walker who can confirm it's actually me since he's standing right next to me, in fact even though you actually answered this time I am  _sorely_  tempted to go through with my threat anyways"

"put Ranger Walker on the line immediately"

"you got it, Jackie it's for you"

several minutes later it was decided that Karen would come to Ranger Union and undergo simple ID tests to confirm it was indeed her and since she was willingly going all that was going to happen was Walker keeping an eye on her so that she couldn't escape

"so staraptor giving us a ride or someone else?"

"staraptor"

"works for me, so essentially you're on babysitting duty until ID is finished"

"exactly"

a few hours later the ID process was finished and it was completed in front of both Karen's mission team and the leaders of Ranger Union

"well looks like you were correct in stating who you were the first time Karen...but what happened to your capture styler?"

"whatever you do don't ask boss OK?"

"someone lost it in the ocean didn't she?"

"oh, you're one to talk Josh"

and so the old argument pops up and those in on the secret have just one thought

"yep they're meant for each other if they can argue like an old married couple so easily"

"well there's only one thing left for you Karen and that's to say mission clear"

"yeah, even if my mission changed"

"hey that happens Karen"

"true, so tell me guys where are the Branchos now?"

"we're not positive however the night before we reported you dead we met up with a group of kids that helped us out"

"I wish I could've met them"

"yeah they were Ash, Brock and Dawn"

"you mean  _the_ Ash, who has helped four other Rangers on their missions?"

"yep that Ash"

(shakes her head) "figures, I helped the International Police a few times and he's pretty famous because of the fact that he's stopped several criminal organizations from succeeding in their plans"

"according to them they go up against a group called Team Rocket on a fairly regular basis"

"that would be a good reason why they can stop criminal organizations from succeeding in whatever scheme they're thinking of"

"anyways we still have to deal with the Branchos, unfortunately they've gone into hiding"

"anyone doing undercover work in them?"

"sorry Karen, but after we almost lost our last Ranger we decided it wasn't worth the risk"

"completely understandable"

"still they'll show up again, and in the meantime we'll still have other Ranger duties to keep us busy"

"say boss, how's the Ranger that we almost lost?"

(sighs) "still in a coma as far as I know, according to the doctors if he doesn't wake up soon they'll have to pull life support"

"where's he at? I think I'll visit him for a bit, since I need some time to recharge after what I've been through recently"

"agreed, go right on ahead, he's at the hospital near Haibor Town"

"hey Ash and friends are probably near the area, I'll come with you and possibly introduce you to the group Karen"

a few hours later they were in Haibor Town and as soon as they arrived they actually met up with Ash and the gang


	4. Chapter 4

"hey Ash how you doing?"

"Josh I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon...who's this?"

"this is Karen my fiancee"

(hisses) "Josh"

"they know Karen, sort of had to tell them actually"

"hey I thought Ranger Karen was dead"

"so did we"

they all look to Karen for an explanation

"I didn't die like they thought I had. What happened was I landed in the ocean and by nightfall I made it to a town with a beach. After staying for the night to recouperate I walked for three days to the nearest Pokemon center to report in"

"she actually threatened people because of being ignored"

"yes well once back at Ranger Union I went through a basic ID process and was declared alive again"

"but why didn't you just use your capture styler to report in?"

"lost it in the ocean"

"that would do it"

"hey what are you guys doing here anyways?"

"we're here to visit another Ranger who was almost killed while working undercover"

"we'll come with"

"thanks guys"

and so they go to the hospital and that's when they find out who the Ranger was. The entire group gasps and exclaims as softly as they could

"Ben!"

they go into his room and are just quiet for a bit. Several hours later the doctor tells the two Rangers that there still wasn't any improvement

"we've heard what's to happen if he doesn't wake up soon. Doctor have Rangers been coming to talk with him?"

(nods) "on a regular basis too, no one was with him two days ago, but then again we heard that they had just lost a Ranger so it was understandable, though now it seems that the Ranger who was supposed to be dead was alive the whole time"

"yeah, apparently they couldn't report in until they got to a Pokemon center and then arrive at Ranger Union under escort"

"but why couldn't they report in?"

"they lost they're capture styler apparently, makes it hard to report in actually"

"guess so"

(sighs) "doctor be frank with us. How long does he have to improve before life support is taken away and he's left to die peacefully?"

"three days, if he hasn't improved in three days he's taken off life support"

"Ranger Union or family?"

"actually his own"

"understood"

as it turns out hearing Karen's voice as well as all the others actually improves his health and two days later Ranger Union gets the report that he's woken up briefly

"he'll be taken to the therapy unit once he's a bit stronger but he'll recover though..."

"the doctors aren't sure about him ever being a Ranger again are they?"

"exactly"

"man he'll take it hard if he's never a Ranger again"

"true but everyone knew the risks when joining"

well a year later the Ranger Union was both celebrating and mourning

"welcome back Ben, looks like you're a Ranger again like you always planned"

"yeah but Josh...I'm sorry to hear about your wife"

(nods) "yeah, and we only got married three months ago!"

he slammed his fist into a wall but that was actually to be expected because they had just had a funeral two days ago. Ash and friends were also there because of the fact that while Dawn was a coordinator and Ash a trainer they had also helped and made friends with several Pokemon Rangers and they were actually considered honorary Rangers too. They were actually there because of a recent mission they had been given when they heard about Karen


	5. Chapter 5

"say Josh, I've heard about a disappearing thought dead act before...could that be the case again?"

(shakes his head) "no, we found her styler in the rubble and several of her body parts"

"just body parts?"

"yes...the destruction from the explosion was devastating and Karen was at ground zero"

"but what about DNA?"

"complete match Ash, there's no hope of her being alive"

"at least...you accomplished your dream of marrying her before she died"

(small wistful smile) "yeah at least we did do that. Thanks Ash, for reminding me that at least I did have some time with her before her death"

meanwhile Karen was  _not_  dead like everyone thought, instead she was captured by the enemy and unable to do anything about it too

"just you wait, when I escape you creeps you're going to be in big trouble"

"you'll never escape  _Ranger_ , you're already dead due to our convincing little non animated clone, and we have a tight security on you to make sure you never escape"

she's left alone and before her body sleeps due to all she's been through that day she says one more thought aloud

"sorry Josh, looks like I won't be home soon"

two years later the Branchos were much smaller than they used to be thanks to the Pokemon Rangers but they still existed in several Regions including Sinnoh and that was the branch Karen was stuck with at the moment. During the two years Ash had actually managed to become a Pokemon master, but he, Dawn, and Brock had also become official Pokemon Rangers a few months before the two years anniversary so that was a huge change that Karen would learn about after her unexpected freedom thanks to officer Jenny. Five weeks after the two year anniversary

"this is officer Jenny here, I think I'm in pursuit of two Branchos members. I could really use the help of some Rangers right about now" (under her breath) "or the international police"

well the Rangers would be too late in helping stop the group from getting several of the members out of danger. But they would be in time to help with the capture of those that couldn't escape and also saving the life of the hostage they just carelessly dumped out of the ship. Once on the ground they quickly realized that the person needed serious medical attention so the hostage was quickly taken to the hospital. At the hospital two hours later

"hey Mike, is it just me or did that person look like deceased member Ranger Karen?"

"now that you mention it yes it did"

"but that's impossible she's been dead for a little over two years now hasn't she?"

officer Jenny speaks up

"I noticed the resemblance fairly quickly so I asked them to do a DNA test, the results should be in within another three hours"

"three hours?"

"sorry but this takes time and this hospital doesn't specialize in DNA identifying"

"what about fingerprints?"

"sorry but those would be closed and sealed by now, especially since she was a Pokemon Ranger"

well three hours later the doctor had two bits of information regarding the patient that needed to be passed on to officer Jenny and the Rangers

"hey, the person you brought in is waking up and we finished the DNA profile, for identification purposes. The DNA matches that of Ranger Karen"

well the two Rangers are pole-axed to discover that and turn to each other

"you call Ranger Union while I visit her with officer Jenny to get her story?"

"agreed"

and so the two split up and while Mike was reporting in the other person went into Karen's room with Jenny

"hello Ranger Karen, I'm officer Jenny and this is Ranger Dawn, we have some questions that really need answered"

(nods) "I know but first I have a question for Dawn"

"what is it?"

"how long have you been a Ranger? I thought your goal was top coordinator like your mom?"

"at first it was but I realized that I wanted to be a Ranger more. Ash, Brock and I passed and became Rangers five months ago"

"so you're based in the Kanto region?"

"Pallet town to be exact, all three of us are and that's practically unheard of"

"must be your teamwork"

"yeah, facing Team Rocket helped us bond as a team real fast"

"bet it did, anyways about your questions I don't really have that much to tell you. They abducted me before they blew up the building with an non animated clone though how they got my DNA I have no idea. For the time I've been gone I've been moved between branches and kept in a small cell"

"have you heard any of their recent plans?"

(shakes her head) "no, even though I'm legally dead I was still a Ranger and they didn't want me knowing anything in case I kept my word and escaped them"

"according to the doctor you have signs of starvation and torture"

"yeah, they didn't really feed me all that well while I was there prisoner and liked to take out their frustrations at their ruined plans on me"

"wait so you've endured starvation and torture for two years?"

"so that's how long I've been gone. And yes Dawn I've endured that for two years"

Mike comes in then to tell them that the Ranger Union knew about Karen actually being alive thanks to the fact that the doctor promised to fax over his reports immediately including the DNA verification

"they might still make me do it again at Ranger Union to double check, not to mention get it officially back on file for my new styler"

"true enough"

"did the doctor say how long until I could be a Ranger again?"

"he would like you to be nearer to your healthy weight limit before anything else and we need to retest you for a Ranger like we did for Ben but other then that it shouldn't be too long"

"so Ben succeeded in becoming a Ranger again did he?"

"yes shortly after your 'death' actually"

"so I guess they were both celebrating Ben's return and mourning my 'death at the same time?"

"exactly, now then are Ash and Brock stationed elsewheres?"

"no all three of us are stationed in Pallet town but they're currently on missions in my original region"

"I get it, so first I have to heal and then I can be a Ranger again"

"exactly, though I doubt after you heal it will take too long for you to become an official Ranger again"

"let's hope so"

well it took her three months to get back to a healthy weight, but considering she had been a prisoner for two years it was a relatively fast recovery. It took her another month to pass the exams but only because they wanted to be sure she would be ok. During her recovery she was reunited of her husband of two years and three months, though they had really only been together for two months overall before her disappearance. At Ranger Union once she became a Ranger again


	6. Chapter 6

"welcome back Ranger Karen"

"it's great to be back"

"everything is back to normal, however to get you back into the flow of things we're starting you out on patrol"

"works for me I need to get reacquainted with the townsfolk and talking to them and doing quests is the best way to do so"

and so for the next several weeks she just gets used to being a Ranger again when suddenly Ash and the gang needed major backup so Karen and Josh quickly went to Pallet town and met at professor Oak's place where they found out that both people and pokemon had started disappearing from the region. They quickly found evidence of Branchos involvement with the help of officer Jenny

"so they're at it again are they?"

"I think Karen's mad"

"no kidding"

Josh speaks up

"Karen calm down honey"

(in a deceptively sweet tone of voice) "Josh, do you remember when I disappeared for a little over two years and was thought dead?"

"yes"

"do you remember who took me?"

"yes it was the...I get it now, but still you won't be able to help the people if you don't calm down"

(sighs) "you're right Josh I'm sorry"

that's when Dawn finds out an old friend had been visiting the Kanto region for more Aura training. They found out through a hostage tape

"guys it's Riley!"

Ash and Brock look at the tape and are also shocked

"you're right it is...but why would they take Riley hostage, he's from Sinnoh"

"I repeat, if you don't want this upstart who ruined our plans near Pewter city to be killed Rangers Karen and Josh will surrender to us. Ranger Union will also stop all current operations that go against our plans, unless you want the rest of the people we've taken from Kanto to be hurt as well"

and with that the tape ended

"OK you three who is Riley?"

"he's an old friend of ours from the Sinnoh region. He was training on Iron island to become an Aura guardian, he already has a lucario and can use Aura really well"

"how did you three meet up with him?"

"we were looking for another, annoying, friend called Barry and he saved Ash from pokemon who were going crazy from pain"

"why were they in pain?"

"because team Galactic did something that made all steel type pokemon go crazy due to some sort of frequency"

"yeah his lucario dropped his protective Aura sphere and I had to have pikachu attack it so it would stop hurting us"

"that must've been difficult for you three"

"it was but it was also for the best, but we haven't really seen Riley since"

and so they start making plans to raid the location that they suspected the Branchos were currently staying at with the prisoners so that Karen and Josh didn't have to surrender. What they found defied their worst expectations of the location, oh sure they found all the Pokemon and humans but they also found something  _no one_  could've prepared for. Riley was chained to a wall and barely alive

"Riley!"

"please, just kill me, I can't fight back anymore...I no longer have the strength to fight back"

they quickly get Riley down from the wall and Dawn just holds him and also strokes his hair while waiting for medical attention to arrive for every human there, especially Riley. While Dawn was doing that the officers were making sure the pokemon were in their pokeballs to take to the nearest pokemon center. Back with Dawn

"you've been fighting them for a long time now all alone haven't you Riley?, well you're not alone anymore, the Rangers are back in full fighting mode against the Branchos. We'll stop them I promise you that"

and so Dawn just keeps reassuring Riley even as Riley loses the battle against falling unconscious, but everyone wasn't surprised by that, especially because the rest of the prisoners told the police and Rangers exactly what Riley had done to protect everyone else from harm

"he's amazing, taking in all that abuse so that no one else got hurt"

"he even let them put that collar on him keeping him from feeling his Aura as punishment for another prisoner's mistake"

"I hope the medics find a safe way to remove the collar"

"yeah, and even if he isn't an Aura guardian now I think after all this he deserves to be one"

"yeah, and..."

"what Karen?"

"maybe we should offer him a position within the Pokemon Rangers"

"maybe, he would be a good asset, but not quite yet, he has to heal first and it also has to be his choice"

"right I know that, I'm just saying that he'd probably make a good Ranger that's all"

"you're right, he obviously cares about the pokemon and other humans considering what he did while being held"

well three months go by and Riley doesn't seem to improve at all, in fact he was deemed to be in a coma. While that was going on the Rangers with officer Jenny's help managed to shut down the Kanto region branch of the Branchos even though they all knew they had a long way to go before destroying the group. At the hospital at the three month mark

"so you and Josh are now assigned to Kanto region Pallet town huh?"

"yeah, even though the Branchos are now gone from this region with the fact that Ash and Brock have been transferred to Johto you're the sole Ranger now in Pallet town so it was decided to send us to back you up"

"that's great though I bet Ash's mom is going to miss him"

"I'm sure, so Dawn since you've been here longer I have a very valid question"

"what is it?"

"how's Riley doing?"

"he's in the coma ward still"

"so no improvement?"

(shakes her head) "none and the doctors are starting to wonder if he'll ever wake up"

"at least he can breath on his own"

"actually three days ago his breathing stopped and they put him on a ventilator. They aren't sure if it's a sign the coma is progressing or if it was something else yet"

"well come on we're at his room"

and that's actually when they get a shock. Due to an emergency Dawn hadn't been able to visit Riley since he was put on a ventilator, so she had no idea that while he still couldn't breath for himself Riley was out of the coma

"Riley you're awake, but why are you still on a ventilator?"

the doctor who had come in to check up on Riley answers


	7. Chapter 7

"it's due to a hidden infection that developed while he was in a coma. He's going to be on a ventilator for at least another week while the meds get a chance to work"

"is that what caused him to stop breathing three days ago?"

"yes that infection was why he stopped breathing"

Karen speaks up

"so how long has he been awake?"

"he actually woke up the day after he was put on the vent"

"wow so he's still probably trying to recover some of his strength"

"actually his coma to him was like taking a long nap, the only way he'll regain strength now is through physical therapy and while he's on that ventilator he can't do that"

while that was going on Riley started looking thouroughly annoyed that he was being talked about without him being included and everyone noticed that at the same time and Dawn spoke up

"sorry Riley it's just that as you know I'm a Pokemon Ranger and so is my friend and we've been really worried about you since we rescued you three months ago"

"hi I'm Ranger Karen, pleased to finally meet you"

Riley's eyes go wide and he writes on the board

"but I heard you were dead"

"nope taken captive like you were, and it must've happened before I was freed myself"

"so I assume you were taken captive shortly after you came to Kanto Riley?"

he nods and then asks about the rest of the world. After three hours Karen springs her surprise

"Riley, I don't know if you have duties as an Aura guardian but I was wondering if you would like to become a Ranger...you certainly deserve it after what you've been through"

Riley becomes slightly panicked but Dawn quickly calms him down

"easy Riley we just saw the final effects and heard from fellow prisoners, and they didn't go into great detail because of how much it disturbed them"

"it's entirely up to you Riley I just wanted you to know about the fact that you've impressed enough Rangers that we'd like to make it official, with some slightly modified testing"

Riley then asked about Lucario

"oh yeah almost forgot, he's at the pokemon center waiting quite impatiently for you to heal, we would've left him with someone competent in handling Lucario's but he tried to Aura sphere the last person who tried that so...nurse Joy is letting him help around the center as rent"

Riley looks quite relieved that his Lucario was going to be just fine. A week later he starts physical therapy and has also decided to join the ranks of Pokemon Rangers, with Lucario as his partner pokemon

"so Riley's finally in physical therapy now, bet he's glad he can talk again"

(chuckles) "indeed he is, say Karen how was your emergency mission?"

"it was ok, turns out the fire spread further than expected so I had to do some rescuing and also had to help keep the fire under control which was  _not_  easy"

"I can imagine, too bad Ash and Brock had to be transferred but such is the life of a pokemon Ranger I guess"

"indeed, I need to do patrol but I was told to go to the hospital first, you?"

"remember how I broke my leg soon after we rescued Riley?"

"yeah, you couldn't do any major Ranger activity for two months"

"well my leg's been bothering me recently so I need an x-ray to see if I accidentally re-broke it or if it's just because it hasn't been really used since it's been in a cast"

they get to the hospital and split up and Karen quickly finds out why she was needed at the hospital first

"hey...Ranger glad you could...come, as you can...see we have a bit of a...problem, whoa that was close"

"yes I can see why...you needed a Ranger, capture on"

she quickly captures the zubat

"capture complete, I'll just take them away from here before releasing them"

"thanks, I just can't understand why they would be so interested in our facility all of a sudden"

she stops cold at hearing that and turns back around

"what do you mean doctor?"

"the zubat left the hospital alone until about a week ago. At first no one thought anything of it, but as the week past we noticed they were more and more irritable, not to mention they've taken to attacking us every chance they get"

"why didn't you notify us sooner?"

"because we wanted to try and get rid of them ourselves first, obviously we failed"

(groans) "tell the rest of the staff to call for Rangers immediately if anything involving pokemon happens again. I get the feeling there's more going on than just zubat being attracted to the hospital"

well she finally finds a safe place to release the pokemon and then goes on patrol like she was planning on doing before the emergency at the hospital


	8. Chapter 8

"well now that patrol's done I should..."

suddenly Karen heard talking near her so she went to investigate and discovered something really bad

"so it's agreed?"

"yes, our boss agrees to your terms, we've also got teams Aqua and Magma on board as well"

"excellent, then the team-up of Team Rocket and Branchos is solidified, our boss will be informed of this right away"

with those words Karen tried to slip away to inform the Pokemon Ranger Union but before she could get her message out she was discovered

"this is Pokemon Ranger Karen there's a..."

"hey that's a Ranger, get her!"

she quickly finds a Pokemon that could help her and captures it. Ultimately though she's captured and her death is faked. Three weeks later there was an emergency meeting at the Ranger Union and a very hard decision was made

"looks like we no longer have no choice"

"indeed the Rangers will be disbanded and we shall surrender ourselves to Teams Aqua and Magma as they have control of this region"

"have the secret orders been sent to all the Rangers in the field?"

"yes, all Rangers have their secret orders, I just got the final confirmation a minute ago"

"very well, send out our public orders and tell teams Aqua and Magma that we surrender"

and so orders to stop fighting the occupation of the regions went out and the Ranger leaders surrendered. While that was going on Ranger all over the world immediately enacted their secret orders and started organizing resistances in their area. Once that was done all they could do was start fighting back little by little and hope that eventually they would win the war, with the help of the International Police that also disbanded and sent out secret fighting orders. What no one knew was that someone very vital to the destruction of the alliance was still alive and readying themselves for the upcoming battles ahead


End file.
